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Questioning Dean Heller on Jerusalem: McBride

Meredith McBride
Published 4:19 p.m. PT Dec. 12, 2017

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President Trump has announced he will break with decades of U.S. foreign policy and move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move has already stirred up a polarized response.
USA TODAY

Our senators are meant to represent Nevada’s interests in Washington. In this chamber, Nevada yields an equal amount of muscle as do much larger states and can ensure the interests of Nevadans are heard on a national scale. This is why I found it curious when, in January of this year, Senator Heller, along with Senators Cruz and Rubio, pushed for legislation on moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem – a largely symbolic bill that sought to legislate something Congress already had approved. Armed with a Republican congressional majority and White House, this was the first thing that Senator Heller chose to align himself with in 2017. Not tax reform, not veterans, not small business. Jerusalem.

Senator Heller has the platform upon which to promote a wide variety of state and national interests. In 2016, he promoted better treatment for veterans and had success passing a bill expanding and upgrading a veteran’s facility in Reno. The previous year, he co-sponsored a successful bill decreasing the minimum service requirements for veterans to obtain benefits such as transitional housing and rehabilitation. These efforts should be commended.

It is unnecessary and unproductive for Sen. Heller to become entangled in one of the oldest conflicts in the world. I spent a summer working for an organization that provides free legal assistance to women in Jerusalem and the West Bank. But I did this as a private citizen, not on the taxpayer’s dollar. An embassy move will cost hundreds of millions of our federal tax dollars and does nothing to further the legitimate interest of Nevadans. While I recognize that politicians sometimes pursue personal ideologies, he should not be undertaking this work at the cost of work that benefits his constituents. A number of the senator’s bills have the potential to make our state and country a better place. If only he spent more time lobbying others to actually make them law.

This year has been highly charged politically, but we need our politicians to overcome this and work to represent us as Nevadans. Republicans needed every last vote to pass their recent tax reform. This would have been a prime opportunity for Senator Heller to hold out support in exchange for support on one of the many bills he has put forward this year. There is no evidence that he bothered to do that. Nevadans deserve better than a sitting duck senator, Republican or Democrat.

Politics is messy, but our system of governance prioritizes working together to find solutions, whether that be across the aisle or across the Green Line. Cooperation is necessary. Caving to personal or special interests is not. There is still time before next year’s election for Dean Heller to put Nevada first.

Meredith McBride is a law student and graduate of the University of Nevada College of Business.

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At a press briefing, State Department officials stopped short of saying
whether the U.S. recognizes that Jerusalem is actually in Israel. This comes after President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
USA TODAY